Pie in the Eye

The Alhambra School District has an annual drive for the Alhambra Foundation for the Future. The kids bring pennies, we have "jeans" day where we can pay to wear jeans, and the classes have penny wars. Mr. Gunn decided it would be fun to let the classes that raised $250 throw a pie at him or Ms. Knight. This was a GREAT idea. Staff members could pay $20.00 to "cream" their boss.

THE VICTIMS

THE AMMUNITION THE SPECTATORS Mr. Gunn got the first few pies right in the face!

Mrs. Gunn came and threw a pie for her mom. Mrs. Knight's first pie. Look at Mr. Gunn laugh!

She wears the "pie tin" look quite well.

It is over. They are covered in goo!

What good sports!

This was a really great activity. The kids loved it. I mean how many kids do you know that can rememer throwing a pie at their principal? This was more fun that any spirit week could have been! I played a small part in this activity - I got to make the pies! It was easy: one #10 can of chocolate pudding from Smart and Final, plop a spoonful in the pie tin, cover with whipped cream and Viola! Perfect pies to cream the principal!

My funny girl

What a funny girl I have. She always does funny faces for the camera!

Here she is with some of her YW buddies. Becca and McKaela went to the Reniassance festival. They had one another's names painted on their faces.

I love you Becca!

March Sunsets

We have seen some really beautiful sunsets as we take our evening walks. I just love the sky and all the different colors it makes.

Pay It Forward...

From my niece, Kori's Blog...Here's how it goes:The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice--for you!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make NO guarantees that you will LIKE what I make! (I can only hope)

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It WILL be done this year.

4. You have no CLUE what it’s going to be … it may be cards, a bookmark, something delicious or a complete surprise to you (and me!) … who knows?

5. Most importantly, you MUST offer the same deal on your blog - the first 5 people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

Spring Break hike

Today we went on a hike in the White Tanks. We hiked in to the pond at the Goat Camp. The Bishop wanted to do something with his kids during spring break and ended up inviting anyone that wanted to come. We ended up with 24 hikers, the youngest being Elle (above) at age 3 and the oldest being Rod at age 54, with me as a close second. :) I must say, Elle was a trooper and she never complained. Maybe it's because her dad had strong shoulders on the way up, and her wonderful big brother carried her on his shoulders most of the way down! Here is Becca with some of the youth at our first rest stop. As you can see, she gets quite flushed when she is hot! As we were walking along, Rod spotted the snake below. If you look closely you can observe that it had a mouse in its mouth. He decided to wait for the girls behind us to warn them. As he was telling them to step to the other side of the path, Becca thought he was saying the opposite, and she almost stepped on the thing! It rattled at her and boy, did she ever jump back! I don't think she will ever forget that little encounter. I've never heard a rattle snake buzz like that in real life...I'm glad Rod followed that inspiration to warn the girls about the snake! If you look at the very top of the cliff here, you can see two of the boys on top. This cliff is part of the little cove that surrounds the pond we hiked in to. It is filled from a natural spring that drips out of the side of the cliff.

The Sharps . . . braved the hike with their little ones. How awesome is that! And after the hike, some of the girls went to their house to swim! Thanks Jarrett and Jamie - I know the girls had a great time.

Julie shows us the value of a Pringle on the hike. We were all starving for our lunch! We (the adults) each brought some stuff for sandwiches and made an assembly line. Everyone eagerly accepted the food that was packed in. Lunch was VERY reviving after hiking 3+ miles in...

Yes... a nice place to rest for our lunch break!

We all enjoyed one another's company on this incredible and beautiful spring day in the desert. I have never seen the flower on the desert so pretty. The colors were amazing and covered the hillsides.

Here is proof that I was actually there!

This was a really fun time. Most of the kids that went will be going on the Trek in June. We have planned to hike every Saturday with the youth to get them (and us!) ready for the Trek. But just know that I am totally worn out from today's adventure. I think I will lay low tomorrow. We actually hiked almost every day this week. As much as I love it, I need a rest!

The Sunday Sermon

Elder Nelson gave us some marvelous teachings in our Sunday Session. He talked about the need to focus on our faith for difficult days ahead - to act on faith, fortify and be prepared for whatever the future will hold. He admonished us to strengthen our homes and pray night and morning. He then gave us a big list of things we should teach our children:

• Teach children to love almighty God. He is real - He lives - He is our Father. There is something of divinity in each of us. Prayer is our connection and it is always available. Just "check in" with Heavenly Father.
• Teach about the Son of God - who he is - what it means to take the sacrament
• Take time - help them develop the ability to solve problems, make decisions and cultivate the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
• Prophecy
• Sacred nature of the Book of Mormon
• We have a prophet today
• Read scriptures to your children
• Amazing reality of the restoration of the priesthood
• Honor mother and father
• Counsel in private and quietly
• Be worth of missionary service - we need more worthy missionaries
• Importance and significance of the temple
• Prepare to receive the blessings of the temple
• Word of wisdom - entitlement to the spiritual blessings that come with it
• Pornography is a plague - destructive - addictive
• Tithing - spiritual and temporal blessings - there is no erosion in the nest-egg of tithing
• Importance of education
• Obey laws of God and the land
• Nurture your own faith

He expounded on each one of these points. Elder Nelson then left us with an apostolic blessing. He told us to feast upon the words of Jesus Christ. He said we would have homes of peace, love and service. He told us to be good examples - an attraction to the gospel. He said to take advantage of missionary opportunities and prepare for the temple that was coming to our area. He blessed us with faith to understand God's plan of salvation and the He loves us and will care for us. He blessed us with health and healing. He then admonished us to sustain our new stake presidency.

It was really marvelous to have an apostle share so much time with us. We felt his genuine love for us and basked in his amazing testimony.

An Apostle! Awesome!

We just had stake conference. What a marvelous Saturday night meeting. Elder Russell M. Nelson was our visiting apostle. He taught us much. He talked about what is really important and told of a home in Mongolia where he visited. What he described was a tent. He said that though circumstances were very humble, the woman had what is really important in that home. Tacked up to the canvas were a picture of the Lord, the prophet, the temple, and a framed certificate of documentation that she was sealed to her husband who had passed away. I was very touched by this story. He asked us to think of one word that describes the Lord Jesus. Different people put out the words love, faith, obedience, compassion. (My word was ATONEMENT.) He then asked us to think of Jesus’ mortal life in 2 categories: (1) His mission (2) His ministry. He said the one word for his mission was Atonement (bingo!) – that Christ became our redeemer and Savior as advocate with the father. He made the resurrection a reality and eternal life a possibility. His ministry was everything else: teaching, obedience, miracles. The one word to encompass the ministry was EXAMPLE. This is uniquely available to everyone. He talked about charity, love, focusing on the ordinances, prayer, knowing things of eternal significance and enduring to the end. He gave examples of how Christ exemplified each one, and how he descended below all things to rise above all things. He cautioned us that we should not ask for a release from our callings, and apply that in our home situation by never giving up on a family member. He talked about the importance of marriage and told us to “be so attractive they can’t resist being with you.” That got a chuckle out of the audience. We left that meeting very uplifted. I stood in line to shake his hand. He has the cutest dimples and is warm and friendly to everyone. An amazing man!

Celebrity Portrait

Look who came to my school today! And was kind enought to pose for a picture with me. I love reading, and I love Dr. Seuss books. This was certainly the highlight of the day.

ATTUTUDE is EVERYTHING!

As I came to work on Monday this week, there was a really nice letter on my desk from my principal. This is what it said:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. the remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, an d that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10%F what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes." ----Charles R. Swindoll

I loved this quote and I have thought about it all week long. I really belive in the power of positive thinking. I have always tried to be upbeat - not perfect at it - but I know that we can find the joy in life if we look for it.

Wrestlemania!

So Becca and Julie totally cracked me up with their wresting. Believe me, it was noisy and fast! Becca is trying a kick move on Julie. Julie shows Becca how to really kick! Luka is like "are you guys for real?" Better watch out, Becca - Julie is fast. I loved the way their hair is flying around in this shot!

The "choke" hold.

The full on "smash-your-opponent-with-your-body" hold?

Becca decides to do a body slam. I don't think I have every seen Julie move so fast! Oh, how I love laughing with my girls. Katie was the announcer and they had such corny names. Something with the street where we lived when they were born and their first pet's name. Julie was Wigdal Pillow, and Becca was Dairy Bear. I told them I could beat them all with the wrestle. All I would have to do is sit on them! We laughed so much and had the best time together.

We did get to play may favorite game, too: "Ticket to Ride." I did not win this round :o(

So... watch out for next time. I am plotting my strategies, girls!

Precious little things...

I am so happy that I got to see my grandkids (and thier mothers). It was so much fun to watch them play and to play with them. I enjoyed a slumber party with Savannah. We laughed and giggled and did our secret kisses. I was delighted to see Ava for a couple of hours - she had been in CA for the time I was in Utah.

Happy Birthday Dad!

LaRue had us over for dinner to celebrate Dad's 83rd Birthday. She fixed a wonderful dinner and then told about how our children are related and how their children are related and about our great and great-great grandparents and how we are all tied together as a family. She had dad share some of the stories of his childhood. The little kids were quite taken with his stories.

Thanks for throwing such a great party, LaRue!

Happy birthday, Dad!

A Very Special Occasion

The Occasion? Wedding day for Matthew Cox. I mean I remember when this outstanding young man was born, and his beautiful ringlets as he grew from a baby to a toddler. And now just look at him! What a beautiful but cold day. Yes, it was snowing as we walked in to the Salt Lake Temple, and yes, I complained about that bitterly. But the purpose of the day way overshadowed the cold weather. How could anything be more beautiful than to see two worthy people kneel across the alter to be married for eternity. Matt and his beautiful bride were so radiant. What a very sweet spirit was there as we witnessed their marriage. I am so very thankful that I could be there for that special occasion. Katie, Melanie and cute baby Wesley. It was so much fun to see Becky with her grandson!

Tina and Mark. Aren't they BEAUTIFUL people??

The handsome groom and his gorgeous mother. It was amazing to see Becky and feel of her spirit. She was so gracious - a marvelous hostess as always. I know that each person there was made to feel special by her attention and love. We totally missed Bob and want him to know we were all thinking of him. They knew this event would probably happen during their missionary service, and decided they could handle it. There were bitter/sweet tears, and we all wished Bob could have been there. Know that your sacrifice was not unnoticed! You are amazing people. Thank you for your incredible example and for sharing the beautiful day with all of us!

Cute, Cute Cute!

So I get to visit my grandkids! I really came for a wedding, but this was a big PERK! I love to get them silly presents. I gave Cooper these "spare body parts." They got the biggest laugh out of the ears, noses, fingers, and mouths. At least once every day, I would come out of a room to be startled by one of these little faces laughing at their "spare parts." Even Luka liked them. He would swing his head around to make the ears move and just laugh at his fingers.

Yeah, I think I have the cutest grandkids around!